Depiction of St. Thomas Aquinas from the Demidoff Altarpiece by Carlo Crivelli
(read more about Carlo Crivelli)
Introduction
St. Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) was an Italian Catholic priest, a philosopher, and a theologian who was known as Doctor Communis, Doctor Angelicus, and Doctor Universalis. Another nickname of his is the Dumb Ox. He was given this name because he was slow in manner and quite stout. He is the father of the Thomistic school of philosophy and theology. Many Catholics thought Aquinas was the greatest philosopher and theologian and this is why many institutions of learning have been named after him.
Biography
Early Life
Aquinas was born January 28, 1225 in his father's castle at Roccasecca in Naples. (His family was an aristocratic or noble family) He began his education at the age of five (at a monastery). Then, at the age of sixteen, he began his studies at the University of Naples where he was for six years. Aquinas had come under the influence of Dominicans. His family was not pleased. When he was going through Rome, his brothers seized him and took him back to their parents at their castle of San Giovanni where he was held captive for a year. They even tempted him with a woman but he rejected her. Then, it is said that two angels came down from heaven and girded his loins, providing him with a life of chastity. At the age of seventeen Aquinas assumed the habit of St. Dominic when Pope Innocent IV intervened. His superiors finally saw his skill in theological study and they sent him to a Dominican school in Cologne in 1244 where Albertus Magnus was lecturing on philosophy and theology. Later on Aquinas accompanied Albertus at the University of Paris where they stayed for three years. Aquinas graduated as a bachelor of theology.
Career
Aquinas went to Paris for his master's degree in 1252 and four years years later Aquinas, along with his friend Bonaventura, was named doctor of theology and began to lecture on theology in Paris and other Italian towns. Aquinas preached everyday and wrote homilies, disputations, and lectures. He also worked on the Summa Theologica for almost his whole entire life.
Death
Pope Gregory X gave Aquinas a task to got the the Second Council of Lyons and he was to investigate and, if possible, settle the differences between the Latin and Greek churches. He undertook the journey even though he was far from healthy. He stopped at a niece's castle on his journey and there he became seriously ill. Aquinas said that he wanted to end his life at a monastery and with his terrible conditions he was unable to go to the house of the Dominicans so they took him to the Cisterian monastery of Fossa Nuova. Aquinas died on March 7, 1274 after a lingering illness of seven weeks.
Quotes
The soul is known by its acts.
Perfection of moral virtue does not wholly take away the passions, but regulates them.
Three things are necessary for the salvation of man: to know what he ought to believe; to know what he ought to desire; and to know what he ought to do.
...the goodness of the will depends on the intention of the end.
Philosophy
The time that he lived in included scholasticism (the philosophy and theology, marked by careful argumentation, that flourished among Christian thinkers in Europe during the Middle Ages).Thomas was influenced by many famous philosophers including Aristotle, Albertus Magnus, and St. Augustine. His main interests were metaphysics (including theology), logic, mind, ethics, politics, and epistemology which is a branch of philosophy dealing with the nature and scope of knowledge. He took Aristotle's writings and made them into a Christian kind of view and this was because the 13th century was a critical period based on Christian thought, torn between the claims of the Augustinians and Averroists. He opposed both schools because Augustinians would make truth a matter of faith and Averroists would separate faith and truth absolutely. Aquinas thought that reason and faith constitute two harmonious realms in which the truths of faith complement those of reason; both are gifts of God, but reason has freedom of its own. According to Aquinas, the first principle of philosophy is the affirmation of being. From this he proceeded to a consideration of manner in which the intellect achieves knowledge. For humans all knowledge begins by way of the senses. According to the position of Thomas, the form or the universal may be said to exist in three ways: in God, in things, and in the mind. Thomas argues that it is by the knowledge of things that we come to know of God's existence.
Also, he influenced John Locke and Gottfried Leibniz.
Major Works
He wrote many books in his life but the most important of them all was the Summa Theologica or Theologine (Summary of Theology). Aquinas worked on it from the time of Clement IV (after 1265) until he died. There was three whole parts to this story: Part 1: God, Part 2: Ethics, and Part 3: Christ. Another one of his best-known books is the Summa Contra Gentiles (On the Truth of the Catholic Faith). It was written between 1258 and 1264. Many of his other works had to do with Aristotle's writings. The books he wrote include his views on the nature of god, including the five ways to prove god's existence, and his exposition of natural law.
By Natalie P.
Depiction of St. Thomas Aquinas from the Demidoff Altarpiece by Carlo Crivelli(read more about Carlo Crivelli)
Introduction
St. Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) was an Italian Catholic priest, a philosopher, and a theologian who was known as Doctor Communis, Doctor Angelicus, and Doctor Universalis. Another nickname of his is the Dumb Ox. He was given this name because he was slow in manner and quite stout. He is the father of the Thomistic school of philosophy and theology. Many Catholics thought Aquinas was the greatest philosopher and theologian and this is why many institutions of learning have been named after him.
Biography
Early Life
Aquinas was born January 28, 1225 in his father's castle at Roccasecca in Naples. (His family was an aristocratic or noble family) He began his education at the age of five (at a monastery). Then, at the age of sixteen, he began his studies at the University of Naples where he was for six years. Aquinas had come under the influence of Dominicans. His family was not pleased. When he was going through Rome, his brothers seized him and took him back to their parents at their castle of San Giovanni where he was held captive for a year. They even tempted him with a woman but he rejected her. Then, it is said that two angels came down from heaven and girded his loins, providing him with a life of chastity. At the age of seventeen Aquinas assumed the habit of St. Dominic when Pope Innocent IV intervened. His superiors finally saw his skill in theological study and they sent him to a Dominican school in Cologne in 1244 where Albertus Magnus was lecturing on philosophy and theology. Later on Aquinas accompanied Albertus at the University of Paris where they stayed for three years. Aquinas graduated as a bachelor of theology.Career
Aquinas went to Paris for his master's degree in 1252 and four years years later Aquinas, along with his friend Bonaventura, was named doctor of theology and began to lecture on theology in Paris and other Italian towns. Aquinas preached everyday and wrote homilies, disputations, and lectures. He also worked on the Summa Theologica for almost his whole entire life.Death
Pope Gregory X gave Aquinas a task to got the the Second Council of Lyons and he was to investigate and, if possible, settle the differences between the Latin and Greek churches. He undertook the journey even though he was far from healthy. He stopped at a niece's castle on his journey and there he became seriously ill. Aquinas said that he wanted to end his life at a monastery and with his terrible conditions he was unable to go to the house of the Dominicans so they took him to the Cisterian monastery of Fossa Nuova. Aquinas died on March 7, 1274 after a lingering illness of seven weeks.Quotes
Philosophy
The time that he lived in included scholasticism (the philosophy and theology, marked by careful argumentation, that flourished among Christian thinkers in Europe during the Middle Ages).Thomas was influenced by many famous philosophers including Aristotle, Albertus Magnus, and St. Augustine. His main interests were metaphysics (including theology), logic, mind, ethics, politics, and epistemology which is a branch of philosophy dealing with the nature and scope of knowledge. He took Aristotle's writings and made them into a Christian kind of view and this was because the 13th century was a critical period based on Christian thought, torn between the claims of the Augustinians and Averroists. He opposed both schools because Augustinians would make truth a matter of faith and Averroists would separate faith and truth absolutely. Aquinas thought that reason and faith constitute two harmonious realms in which the truths of faith complement those of reason; both are gifts of God, but reason has freedom of its own. According to Aquinas, the first principle of philosophy is the affirmation of being. From this he proceeded to a consideration of manner in which the intellect achieves knowledge. For humans all knowledge begins by way of the senses. According to the position of Thomas, the form or the universal may be said to exist in three ways: in God, in things, and in the mind. Thomas argues that it is by the knowledge of things that we come to know of God's existence.
He is known for his "Five Proofs for God's Existence" in his Summa Theologica.
Also, he influenced John Locke and Gottfried Leibniz.
Major Works
He wrote many books in his life but the most important of them all was the Summa Theologica or Theologine (Summary of Theology). Aquinas worked on it from the time of Clement IV (after 1265) until he died. There was three whole parts to this story: Part 1: God, Part 2: Ethics, and Part 3: Christ. Another one of his best-known books is the Summa Contra Gentiles (On the Truth of the Catholic Faith). It was written between 1258 and 1264. Many of his other works had to do with Aristotle's writings. The books he wrote include his views on the nature of god, including the five ways to prove god's existence, and his exposition of natural law.
Bibliography